Conviction (Consolation Duet #2)(2)

I move toward Liam, his blue eyes meet mine as I rush toward him. I take his hands in mine, but he releases them. My heart shatters as he steps back.

“Don’t pull away from me,” I demand.

“I think you need some time,” his voice cracks. “You need to talk.”

“I don’t know what I need,” I acknowledge.

“Lee,” he says and looks at Aaron, but then he returns his gaze to me.

I see it in his eyes, the resolution forming and masking over this pain. “You’re going to walk away from me, aren’t you?” Tears fall relentlessly as I wait for his answer.

Liam’s hand lifts, and he tenderly cups my cheek. “I’m not walking away. I need a minute.”

Aaron clears his throat. “I missed a lot more than you filled me in on. I guess I understand why you’ve been so quiet now.”

The loss of Liam’s touch registers immediately.

Anger boils within as the hurt and betrayal at Aaron’s hand over the last few months comes flooding forward. “You should stop,” I demand.

“My wife?” he yells and steps forward. “You’ve been f*cking my wife?”

“You were dead!” I scream, and my legs give out. I fall to the hard ground as the gravel scrapes my skin. Liam’s arms are around me in an instant.

“Get your hands off of her! You son of a bitch!” Aaron continues to raise his voice warning Liam. “I’ll kill you!”

I look up, and Jackson and Mark are holding on to Aaron, dragging him to the back of the house.

I turn into Liam’s embrace allowing his strong arms to hold me close. “Take me to Corolla. I’ll grab Aara, and we can go,” I plead. “Please, take me away.”

“Lee,” he says with regret laced in his voice. “I can’t. I wish we could, but we can’t.”

“No,” I reply defiantly. “You and I had plans.”

“And now your husband is home.”

“My cheating husband?”

Liam sighs while pushing me back slightly. “You both need to talk. I can’t be that man.”

We both stand looking at each other before I speak. “What man? The man I fell in love with? The man who told me he loved me? Because that’s the man I need.”

Liam wipes his hand down his face. “He’s your f*cking husband, Lee! Not to mention he was my best friend. I saw the way you looked at him. It was clear in the second you saw him how much you love him. You ran to him, and I get it,” he says despondently. “I get why you would. You loved him. I mean, what the hell do you want me to do?”

“Fight!” I slap his chest and push. “Fight for me. Fight for us. So what, you’re going to walk away? Just hand me over like I mean nothing?” The question hangs in the air as I wait for the bomb to drop.

“You want me to fight?” he steps closer. “You think I’m not? You think this is what the hell I wanted? To deliver your husband back to you when I’m so f*cking in love with you that I would’ve rather cut out my own heart? I hate that I brought him home to you.”

Anger stirs between us as the weight of the situation descends around us.

“I can’t believe this.”

Liam’s shoulders sag in defeat. “You both have a lot of things to work through. I should leave before this escalates. I won’t be that guy.”

I huff and look away. Unreal. “I can’t believe you think so little of us.”

With my pulse beating rapidly in my chest, Liam grips my shoulders pulling me close. Our noses touch while we both breathe heavily. “I would give my life for you. I would go in there and pummel his ass to a pulp if I thought that would help. But it won’t. You’re married to him. You’re his wife. Right this minute, I’m the other man. Do you understand that?”

“I belong to you.”

“No, you belong to him.”

I need him to understand me. My life changed when Liam came. He made me feel again, loved me like I’ve never known. I don’t know that I’ll survive if he leaves me. I close my eyes and press my lips to his. Gripping his shirt, I yank his body against mine.

Kiss me, dammit.

Claim me.

He stands unmoving as I pour myself into him. He doesn’t respond, and my anger grows.

Pulling back, I glare at him as his eyes shut. My hand rears back then I slap him across the face. I take pleasure in watching his eyes snap open, hoping this draws him back to me.

“What the hell was that for?”

I slap him again. I see the fight coming to life inside of him.

“Fuck you. If I mean this little to you, then go. Go. Run. Leave! Go be the man you’re not because of whatever bullshit you’ll feed yourself! Go!” I raise my hand again, but he grabs it.

Liam’s control snaps, he grips my arms tighter jerking me against him. I breathe one deep breath before his lips crash against mine. I savor the feel of his mouth pushing against mine. I get lost in the brute force of this kiss. His fingers are a vice around my arms, and I don’t care. I want him to bruise me. Leave his mark so I have proof of what we shared. My lips mold to his as I give him back all I am.

I escape the moment we’re both drowning in when our tongues touch. His grip loosens as his hands glide to my neck until they cradle my head. The mood shifts to sadness. My fingers thread in his hair as I try to hold him against me. Liam’s hands tighten, and he breaks us apart.